(Student) FINAL MSJ 2-Self Image

MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 2
Chapter 1: SELF-IMAGE RESTORATION
Aim/Goal
i. Participants would be able to distinguish the difference and understand the definition of
right self-image and wrong self-image
ii. Participants would understand the importance of the right self-image and make a
decision to restore their self-image completely in Christ Jesus
INTRODUCTION
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a
complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God---what is good and is
pleasing to him and is perfect. (Good News Bible)
Life transformation is a progressive journey in our spiritual growth after we receive salvation.
One important part that we need to experience in a life transformation is the renewal of mind, in
which our mindset won’t be following the world’s pattern, but it will be based on godly truth.
Furthermore, one of the mindsets that needs to be renewed is our own perspective about
ourselves in front of God, which is called “self-image”.
SELF-IMAGE
Humans are created in the image of God Himself. Yet, because of sin, humans lost the glory of God
(Romans 3:23). Sin destroys human’s self-image that we won’t be able to see ourselves as God’s
most prized, valued, and perfect creation since there is sin in their lives.
Simply saying, self-Image means your own belief/assessment about yourself – how you see and
value yourself. Self-image actually holds a crucial role in every human’s life. A Christian counselor
named Lawrence J. “Larry” Crabb states in his book, Effective Biblical Counseling, that “the most
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basic need of human being is a sense of personal worth, an acceptance of oneself as a whole, real
person”.
BROKEN SELF-IMAGE
Broken self-image is caused by sin and generally matches the following formula: Value of self =
Performance + What people say.
As a consequence, the result of broken self-image is as follows.

1. We will experience a variety of emotional problems that will slow down our spiritual
growth, destroy our own potential, and fail us in fulfilling God’s plan in our lives. Some
examples of that emotional problem are anxiety, feeling of worthlessness, feeling of
uselessness, low self-esteem, fear of rejection, lack of enthusiasm, stress, etc.
2. Wrong self-image traps us in a ‘thirst’ (ambition) of achieving success and getting

recognition.
Someone who is trapped in a wrong ambition tends to exert the following behavior.
a. Pushing self too hard, creating a perfectionist self that is just too much, highly
ambitious and workaholic.
b. Self-withdrawal to avoid failure, creating an ignorant, cruel, and avoidance
personality.
Those two ‘sides’ of personalities that are seemingly opposing each other, in reality, have
the same root of problem: arrogance, where a person with his/her own strength tries to
prove that they are valuable.
3. A dangerous personality that is full of insecurity will then arise, rejecting every advice,
critique, and good feedback. This will slowly affect our way of socializing with other
people, for example, being overly sensitive, always suspicious, easy to misunderstand
things, having low self-esteem, and easily offended.
The broken self-image formula contains a few ways of how humans usually view themselves:
1. Trap of Appearance:
“I have to fulfill certain standard, so I may be valued and accepted.”
Truth of the word of God: We are justified before God (Romans 5:1, Romans 3:28).
“I have been justified in God’s presence, not because of my appearance or actions, but
because of God’s sacrifice in my life.”
2. Trap of Acknowledgement:
“I have to be acknowledged (accepted) by certain people, so I may be valuable.”
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Truth of the word of God: We are accepted by God (Romans 8:31-39, Galatians 4:5-7).
“With God’s sacrifice, I, who in the past was secluded from God’s love, have now been
forgiven and accepted fully by God.”
3. Trap of Guilt (accusation):

“I’ve done a mistake, I failed badly, so I won’t be forgiven, and I won’t find a way out.”
Truth of the word of God: We have been reconciled with God (1 John 4:9-10, Romans 5:6-
10, 2 Corinthians 5:19).
“Through His death on the cross, Christ has borne and carried away God’s wrath over
my sin, so I’ve been reconciled, and I am loved by God.”
4. Trap of Embarrassment:
“My personality is bad; I’ve been this way. It can’t be changed; I don’t have any hope.”
Truth of the word of God: We are new creations in Christ, and we are valuable in His eyes
(Hebrew 10:14, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17).
“I am a new creation in Christ when I fully accepted His sacrifice on the cross upon my
life.”
We will experience self-image restoration when:

• We leave our wrong perspective of self and start seeing ourselves from the perspective of
the word of God upon our life; and
• We grow in recognizing/knowing God’s Person and His heart’s content upon us.
RIGHT SELF-IMAGE
The right self-image that we are supposed to have is: Value of self = Our personality + What
God says.
If we want to have a healthy, right, and complete self-image, we need to view ourselves based
on God’s perspective and God’s word, because He is our Creator! Outside of God’s words should
be a wrong view of self-image.
Changing our own view based on God’s view is a spiritual discipline that involves discipline in
thinking (mindset), feeling (emotion), words (confession), and acts (action). And we need to
persevere through this process as we grow in knowing His word more, being more intimate with
Him day by day.
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THE SIGNS OF SELF-IMAGE RESTORATION EXPERIENCE
1. A joyful heart
There will always be happiness, a new joy even though we are experiencing hardships and
struggles in life – someone who has their mindset recovered will have joy radiating from their
face.
2. A renewed mindset
Their mind will always be renewed day by day based on the truth of the word of God such
that it will result in always being positive while viewing themselves and all things upon their
lives.
3. A caring action
They begin to care for other people’s needs, resulting in love towards each other;
furthermore, their relationship with God and the others will be knitted far better than before.
4. A prayerful habit
They now like to pray, praise and worship God, always feeing the freedom in His presence,
not easily be accused and intimidated; and following that, their spiritual lives will grow even
more.

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MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 2

Chapter 1: SELF-IMAGE RESTORATION

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

As a consequence, the result of broken self-image is as follows.

2. Wrong self-image traps us in a ‘thirst’ (ambition) of achieving success and getting

3. Trap of Guilt (accusation):

We will experience self-image restoration when:

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